迪文小说

chater1 绮丽海盗船 a gru crair02（第1页）

！’saidAndreoli；‘doyouhear?’

‘What?’reliedZambecarri。

‘Asingularnoise！’

‘Youaremistaken！’

‘No！-Doyouseethosemidnighttravellers，listeningtothatincomrehensiblesound?Havetheystruckagainstarower?Aretheyabouttobereciitatedontheroofs?Doyouhearit?Itislikethesoundoftheocean！’

‘Imossible！’

‘Itistheroaringofthewaves！’

‘Thatistrue！-Light！Llight！’

Afterfvefruitlessattemts，Andreoliobtainedit。Itwasthreeoclock。Thesoundofthewaveswasheardwithviolence；theyalmosttouchedthesurfaceofthesea。

‘Wearelost！’exclaimedZambecarri，seizingabagofballast。

‘Hel！’criedAndreoli。

Thecartouchedthewater，andthewavescoveredthembreasthigh。Totheseawithinstruments，garments，money！Theaeronautsstriedentirely。Thelightenedballoonrosewithfrightfulraidity。Zambecarriwasseizedwithviolentvomiting。Grossettibledfreely。Theunhaymencouldnotseak；theirresirationwasshort。Theywereseizedwithcold，andinamomentcoveredwithacoatofice。Themoonaearedtothemredasblood。Afterhavingtraversedthesehighregionsduringhalfanhour，themachineagainfellintothesea。Itwasfouroclockinthemorning：thebodiesofthewretchedaeronautswerehalfinthewater，andtheballoon，actingasasail，draggedthemaboutduringseveralhours。Atdaybreak，theyfoundthemselvesoositePesaro，fvemilesfromtheshore；theywereabouttoland，whenasuddenfawofwinddrovethembacktotheoensea。Theywerelost！Theaffrightedbarksfledattheiraroach。Fortunately，amoreintelligentnavigatorhailedthem，tookthemonboard；andtheylandedatFerrara。Thatwasfrightful！Zambecarriwasabraveman。Scarcelyrecoveredfromhissufferings，herecommencedhisascensions。Inoneofthem，hestruckagainstatree；hislam，flledwithsiritsofwine，wassilledoverhisclothes，andtheycaughtfre；hewascoveredwithfame，hismachinewasbeginningtokindle，whenhedescended，halfburned。The21stSetember，1812，hemadeanotherascensionatBologna；hisballooncaughtinatree；hislamsetfretoit。Zambecarrifell，andwaskilled！

“Andinresenceofthesehighfacts，shallwestillhesitate?No！Thehigherwegothemoregloriouswillbeourdeath。”

Theballoon，entirelyunballasted，wewerebornetoincredibleheights。Theaerostatvibratedintheatmoshere；theslightestsoundre-echoedthroughthecelestialvaults；theglobe，theonlyobjectwhichstruckmysightinimmensity，seemedabouttobeannihilated，andaboveustheheightsofheavenlostthemselvesintherofounddarkness！

Isawtheunknownrisebeforeme。

“Thisisthehour！”saidhetome。“Wemustdie！Wearerejectedbymen！Theydesiseus!letuscrushthem！”

“Mercy！”exclaimedI。

“Letuscutthecords!letthiscarbeabandonedinsace！Theattractiveforcewillchangeitsdirection，andweshalllandinthesun！”

Desairgavemestrength！Ireciitatedmyselfuonthemadman，andafrightfulstruggletooklace！ButIwasthrowndown!andwhileheheldmebeneathhisknee，hecutthecordsofthecar！

“One！”saidhe。

“Mercy！O，God！”

“Two！Three！”

Onecordmore，andthecarwassustainedonlyononeside。Imadeasuerhumaneffort，rose，andviolentlyreulsedthisinsensate。

“Four！”saidhe。

Thecarwasoverset。Iinstinctivelyclungtothecordswhichheldit，andclimbedutheoutside。

Theunknownhaddisaearedinsace！

Inatwinklingtheballoonascendedtoanimmeasurableheight！Ahorriblecrashwasheard。Thedilatedgashadburstitsenveloe！Iclosedmyeyes。

Afewmomentsafterwards，amoistwarmthreanimatedme；Iwasinthemidstofferyclouds！Theballoonwaswhirlingwithfearfulraidity！Ifeltmyselfswooning！Drivenbythewind，Itravelledahundredleaguesanhourinmyhorizontalcourse；thelightningsfashedaroundme！

Meanwhilemyfallwasnotraid。WhenIoenedmyeyes，Ierceivedthecountry。Iwastwomilesfromthesea，thehurricaneurgingmeonwithgreatforce。Iwaslost，whenasuddenshockmademeletgo；myhandsoened，acordsliedraidlybetweenmyfngers，andIfoundmyselfontheground。Itwasthecordoftheanchor，which，sweeingthesurfaceoftheground，hadcaughtinacrevice！Ifainted，andmylightenedballoon，resumingitsfight，waslostbeyondthesea。

WhenIrecoveredmysenses，Iwasinthehouseofaeasant，atHarderwick，alittletownofGueldre，ffteenleaguesfromAmsterdam，onthebanksoftheZuyderzee。

Amiraclehadsavedme。ButmyvoyagehadbeenbutaseriesofimrudencesagainstwhichIhadbeenunabletodefendmyself。

Maythisterrifcrecital，whileitinstructsthosewhoreadit，notdiscouragetheexlorersoftheroutesofair。

一

1850年9月，我到达了坐落在缅因河畔的法兰克福。这一次，我乘气球穿越了德国的几个主要城市，煞是引人注目。但是，直到现在，也没有一个德国人愿意和我同行。之前格林、戈达德、普瓦特温这几位先生在巴黎成功的升空经历，并没有唤起那群刻板的德国人对气球飞行的半点儿兴致。

当时，我要乘气球升空的消息刚在法兰克福传开，马上就有三个市民自告奋勇，要和我一同实现这一壮举。两天后，我们将从喜剧广场出发。我立刻开始着手做各项准备工作。我的气球体积庞大，由丝质材料制成，上面还涂了一层杜仲胶，这是为了防酸蚀和毒气。此外，气球的密闭性能特别好。我还修复了其他一些因为危险降落而损坏的小零件。

我们升空的那天正好是德国9月份的一个大集市，成千上万的人赶到了法兰克福。装燃料的大容器由六个大桶组成，被密封起来。氢气完全是由铁和稀硫酸反应制成的，然后再从第一个容器输送到第二个容器，继而送到那个大气球里。气球就是这样被充满的。我花了整整一个早晨，才完成了这些准备工作。大约11点的时候，就已经充了四分之三的气，这已经完全够用了。因为随着我们升空，空气的密度会降低，容器里的氢气也会随之膨胀，所以，如果充得太满就可能会爆炸。根据我和同伴们的重量，我计算出了到达足够飞行高度所需气体的确切体积。

我们计划正午出发。那场面极其壮观，等得不耐烦的人们在圈出的围场内外你推我搡，临近的街道也被挤得水泄不通。附近的房子，从地下室到房顶全都挤满了围观的人。前几天刮的大风今天已经平息下来，但晴朗的天空透着闷热。这种天气，你极有可能刚刚升上去就想降下来。